Born: Los Angeles, California. Education: Studied Fine Arts at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Founded: in London by Stephen Marks, 1969. Company History: Introduced French Connection label, 1972; launched menswear collection, 1976; hired Nicole Farhi as designer, from 1978; introduced Nicole Farhi label, 1983; launched "fcuk" marketing campaign in Britain, 1997; debuted same campaign in U.S., 1999; expanded into lifestyle products through licensing, late 1990s and early 2000s; created first television/cinema advertising, 2000; acquired mail order company, Toast, 2000; opened San Francisco-based U.S.
Born: London, 17 April 1961. Education: Attended Michael Hall School, Forest Row, East Sussex.
Education: Studied law and oriental literature at Chuo University, and design at Bunka College of Fashion, Tokyo. Career: Designer, Van Jacket, Japan; immigrated to Italy, 1976; designer, Barbas, beginning 1976; designer, Giuliano Fujiwara, Srl, from 1986; women's collection introduced, 1988.
Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 20 September 1924. Education: Studied at the Traphagen School of Fashion, New York, 1942-43.
Born: Tiflis, Russia, 1916. Education: Studied art and design in Rome.
Born: Gibraltar, Spain, 1960. Education: Studied design at St.
Founded: by Donald and Doris Fisher as a jeans retailer in San Francisco in 1969. Company History: Company expanded into Display window from a Gap store, fall 1998.
Born: Sandra Harrower in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 16 December 1951, to British parents. Education: Graduated from Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Los Angeles, 1975.
Born: Arcueil, France, 24 April 1952. Education: Educated at the École Communale, the College d'Enseignement, and at the Lycée d'Arcueil, to 1969.
Founded: in Ancona by Arnoldo and Donatella Girombelli in 1961. Company History: Lines include Genny Moda, Complice, Byblos (introduced 1973, became independent company, 1983), Malisy (to 1993), Montana Donna and Montana Uomo (to early 1990s); underwent restructuring, 1992-94; Genny Ono eveningwear line launched, 1994; Richard Tyler replaced Byblos longtime designers Cleaver and Varty, 1997; signed John Bartlett to produce his menswear line and a new women's collection, 1997; Martine Sitbon and Sandy Dalal signed to take over Byblos designs, 2001; other designers have included Gianni Versace, Claude Montana, Dolce & Gabbana, Guy Paulin, and Rebecca Moses.
Company History: Georges Rech designer collection established in Paris, 1960; Synonyme separates division established, 1973; Unanyme division of coordinated knitwear and woven separates established, 1981; Georges Rech Group accessories division founded, 1983; licensing department established, 1983; Georges Rech Homme men's ready-to-wear established, 1987; joined Courtaulds as part of textile division, London, 1989; renamed Courtaulds Textiles Plc., 1990; initiated licensing agreement in Thailand, 1993; turnaround after several years of low sales, 1997; Courtaulds acquired by Sara Lee Corp., 2000; franchised or wholly-owned Georges Rech boutiques around the world, including Paris, London, Brussels, Montreal, and Hong Kong; Unanyme distributed through 45 stores in France; group lines also found in many multibrand retailers throughout the world. Company Address: 112 rue Reaumur, 75002 Paris, France.
Born: Vienna, 8 August 1922. Immigrated to the United States, 1938, naturalized, 1943.
Founded: in 1984 by Tanya Sarne. Company History: Opened London shop, 1994; opened flagship London store, 1997; launched G2 collection, 1997; opened boutiques in Paris, Los Angeles, and Amsterdam, 1998; signed licensing agreement with Oliver Goldsmith for eyewear, 1998; introduced shoe and knitwear lines, 1999; launched signature fragrance Ghost, 2000; planned second women's fragrance, 2001-02.
Born: William Elphinstone Gibb in Fraserburgh, Scotland, 23 January 1943. Education: Studied in Fraserburgh until 1960; studied at St.
Born: Castelbolognese, Faenza, Italy, 12 December 1949. Education: Studied architecture; has traveled the world extensively.
Born: Marithé Bachellerie— Lyon, France, 1942; François Girbaud— Mazamet, France, 1945. Joint Career: Business formed in 1965; showed first collection, 1968, first boutique selling Girbaud-designed jeans opened, Paris, 1969; Halles Capone boutique opened in Paris, from 1972; first U.S.
Born: Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy, in Beauvais, 21 February 1927. Education: Studied at the Collége Felix-Fauré, Beauvais and Montalembert; École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, Paris; Faculty of Law, University of Paris.
Born: London, 11 April 1955. Education: Putney High School, London; Thames Valley Grammar School, London; Wimbledon School of Art; Brighton Polytechnic; Chelsea School of Art.
Born: Germain "Alix" Barton in Paris, 30 November 1903. Education: Studied painting and sculpture, Paris.
Born: Near Carcassonne, France, in 1917. Education: Apprenticed with local tailor at age 16, later with the dressmaker Mirra, in Toulouse.
Founded: Established in Turin, 1887, as Donato Levi e Figli for production of men's off-the-rack clothing. Company History: Company purchased in 1925 by the Rivetti family who formed Gruppo Finanziario Tessile in 1930; GFT USA established, 1971; GFT Mode Canada established; 1983; manufacturers for Abboud, Armani, Dior, Fezza, Montana, Ungaro, Valentino, and others; also publisher of Il libro del sarto, 1987; L'abito della rivoluzione, 1987; Giornale delle nuove mode di Francia e d'Inghilterra, 1988; Apparel Arts, 1989; Ready-Made Fashion: An Historical Profile of the Clothing Industry in Great Britain, France and Germany, 1990; Women and Modernity: Fashions, Images, Female Strategies in Germany from the Beginning of the Century to the 1930s, 1991; Pagine e tavole del costume antico e moderno, 1992; company sold to Giovanni Agnelli's Gemina, 1994; Gemina restructured, Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali (HDI) becomes new parent of GFT, 1997; acquired Valentino house, 1998; bought Joseph Abboud, 2000.
Founded: in Florence, Italy, as saddlery shop by Guccio Gucci (1881-1953), 1906, after family millinery business failed. Company History: Became retailer of accessories, 1923; Gucci shops opened in Florence, 1923; boutiques open in Rome, 1938; firm renamed Societá Anonima Guccio Gucci, 1939; stores opened in Milan, 1951; renamed Guccio Gucci Srl, 1945; New York boutique opened, 1953; opened in Paris, 1963; shop opened in Hong Kong and Gucci Parfums formed, 1975 (renamed Gucci Parfums SpA, 1982); company renamed Guccio Gucci SpA, 1982; appointed Dawn Mello creative director, 1989; Tom Ford joined company, 1990; acquired by Investcorp, 1993; Mello departed and Ford named creative director, 1994; deaths of Mauritzio and Paolo Gucci, 1995; listed on the NYSE, 1995; rival Prada bought stake, 1998; sold stake to LVMH, 1999; Pinault Printemps Redoute acquired major stake and fought off LVMH, 1999; Alexander McQueen defected from LVMH to Gucci, 2000; hired Stella McCartney to create her own line, 2000; designer Nicolas Ghesquiére came to firm with acquisition of Balenciaga, 2001.
Founded: by Georges, Maurice, Armand, and Paul Marciano, 1981. Company History: Signed license for knitwear, 1982; sold half ownership to Jordache, 1983; brothers regained ownership, 1988; signed license with Revlon for signature fragrance, 1990; Rodeo Drive store opened and eyewear line added, 1992; Georges sold his stake to brothers, 1993; launched golf apparel line and entered home furnishings, 1994-95; went public, 1996; brought apparel licensing back in-house, 1999; opened Baby Guess, Guess Kids, and Guess Home stores, 2000; launched G Brand line, 2001.
Born: Paris, France, 10 July 1961. Education: Studied art history at the Sorbonne, Paris, 1978-80, and Studio Bercot, 1979-80.